Deana Simmons's English IV classes have been exploring connections this semester.  Today, Mrs. Simmons read William Stafford's poem "The Way It Is" to them and demonstrated how all of us are connected.  Students passed yarn among each other to create a web.  As each student passed to another, the student had to tell how he or she is connected to the recipient.  Students took notes on the connections stated and tracked the yarn; the notes were then turned into poems. 

 
The Way It Is

There’s a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change.  But it doesn’t change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can’t get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.
You don’t ever let go of the thread.

~ William Stafford ~

(The Way It Is)